FREDERICK WILDMAN AND SONS, LTD.

IMPORTERS AND WINE MERCHANTS

Domaine Christian Moreau Père & Fils

The Moreau family has been rooted in the heart of Chablis since 1814. At that time JeanJoseph Moreau founded the wine-merchant trading firm. In 1974 Hiram Walker acquired 50% of the company and acquired the remaining shares in 1985. J. Moreau et Fils was then sold with no member of the family remaining in the company to Boisset in Nuits-Saint-Georges. The Moreau family retained ownership of their vineyard holdings throughout these transitions.

With the 2002 vintage, Christian Moreau Père & Fils regained their right to produce wines sourced from their extensive vineyard holdings and market the wines under their own name. Today, Fabien Moreau, the sixth generation of the family, is the super-star winemaker of this beautiful Domaine in Chablis. After graduating in Oenology in Dijon and earning a MBA at E.N.I.T.A in Bordeaux, he also studied in New Zealand.

The Domaine’s vines average 45 years old; at harvest, grape picking is done by hand, from their Chablis up to their Grands Crus. The Domaine’s Premier Crus and Grands Crus wines are vinified up to 30-45% in wood barrels, the balance in stainless vats. Fermentation of their other wines takes place in stainless steel vats. According to Moreau family, “Our winemaking techniques should strive to honor the high quality of our terroir, vines and grapes, bringing out the very best in every harvest.”

From Stephen Tanzer (Vinous Media):
“Fabien Moreau has taken these wines to ever-higher levels of precision in recent years by fine-tuning harvest dates, oak regimes and bottling times. The Moreaus started harvesting on September 15 in 2014, then decided that the early fruit was too high in acidity and not sufficiently ripe. They stopped for several days and then restarted on the 22nd following rain the previous day. This is an excellent vintage here, with the wines combining richness and firm structures for graceful development in bottle. The Moreaus also outperformed in 2013; although they started harvesting earlier than most of their neighbors (September 30), strict sorting of rotten grapes was essential. And as the botrytis was wet rather than dry, they benefited from harvesting by hand. This estate was certified as organic by Ecocert as of the 2013 vintage.”